All highways, entry points to Pune choked with traffic after Diwali festivities conclude

A Highway Traffic Police officer said, “From the early morning hours, higher than usual traffic volume was reported on the Pune to Mumbai corridor. However, from early afternoon, increased traffic was also reported on Mumbai to Pune corridor. While the traffic was moving for the majority of the stretch, ghat sections and toll plazas reported congestion. Traffic congestion was also reported within Lonavala town and Khandala areas because of the higher than usual number of the tourists visiting the area. This increased traffic also resulted in snarls on the Pune-Mumbai Old Highway. Full strength of the Highway police and local police stations was deployed to manage the situation on the ground.”

Naynish Ashtekar, a management professional from Pune who commutes between Pune and Mumbai regularly said, “We were in Mumbai for the Diwali celebrations. As we started for Pune on Sunday morning, we had expected snarls and jams along the way. There was a lot of congestion in the Bor Ghat section. We experienced snarls while entering Pune city as well.”

Another Highway Traffic Police officer posted on Pune to Satara patch of the Pune-Bengaluru highway said, “Heavy traffic volume was reported on the entire Pune to Satara stretch on both corridors. The Khambatki Ghat section on Pune to Satara corridor and S shaped curve after Khambatki Ghat on the Satara to Pune corridor, experiences traffic jams during the peak traffic hours. Anewadi and Khed Shivapur toll plazas also experienced traffic snarls throughout the day. At the entry point on this highway at Katraj, heavy traffic volume was reported at Narhe and Navale Bridge and Warje. A spell of rain in the evening added to the traffic woes and vehicles moved slower than usual.”

Highway police said that a similar situation was reported on Pune-Ahilyanagar Highway — at Wagholi and Shirur. On the Pune-Nashik Highway — at Chakan and Alephata and on the Pune-Solapur Highway — at Uruli Kanchan. The entry points of all these highways also reported traffic congestion, especially in the evening after a short spell of rain.

Pune City Traffic Police officer said, “As Diwali celebrations wrapped up, Pune city witnessed heavy vehicle volume on the roads due to people returning to Pune and some leaving for their hometowns. Congestion was reported on key arterial roads including Pune city stretches of Solapur to Pune corridor, Satara to Pune corridor at Katraj, Ahilyanagar–Pune Road in city limits, Katraj to Vadgaon Bridge area. Due to rainfall and increased vehicle volume, traffic moved slowly in several parts of the city.”